Orzo, Geese, and I Need a Vacation

I picked up some little grape tomatoes yesterday. They are sweet and yummy and perfectly bite-sized. They also make tasty oven-dried (as opposed to sun-dried) tomatoes. I sliced them in half, placed them on parchment paper, drizzled them with olive oil, sprinkled them with sea salt and pepper, then put them in a 350F oven for 10 minutes. At that point, I moved them around a bit, and re-set for 10 more minutes. I kept doing that until they looked sufficiently browned and flattened. Like this: Yum. Now they are perfect for use on pizza, salad, pretty much anything. I used them for an orzo salad. I figured orzo salad was something that Bay could get down fairly easy after her wisdom teeth extraction. Poor kid looks a bit like a squirrel today. The bottom of her cheeks stick out farther than her cheekbones. Yesterday she looked like Pete Wentz.

Anyway, to the cooked orzo I added garbanzo beans, purple onions, sliced black olives, peas, thinly sliced basil and mint leaves from my garden, dressed it with a red wine vinegarette, and then placed sliced avocado on top. Bay ate a whole bowl.

Tomorrow I'm going to take some down to Mom at her office. She's been without a car for a week and a half. When I'm stuck at home, nothing in the house sounds good, so I thought she might appreciate a change. I made some croutons, too, so I'll take her some of those, as well.

I drove Mom home from work last friday and before we left, we walked down to the pond to look at the baby geese. They are so fuzzy and cute right now.

I"m feeling unsettled today. My girl is crabby and I am trying to be understanding and patient about it, but really I just want to run out the door. I miss my guy and I don't know when I'll be able to see him again. He has no traveling $$ and his head is still a mess. I'm used to being in charge and I want to say, do this, do that, and everything will work out. I guess that is what happens when you spend 3/4 of your adulthood single - you have a hard time not being bossy.

I suspect I need some brownies. And a break. Robin kept saying, "I need a vacation from my kids," when I spoke with her on Friday. I absolutely get that. The only time I've had a vacation from any of my children was when I was in labor with one of their siblings. Giving birth is exciting and all, but not anybody's idea of a vacation.

Well, I've got to go - time to feed Max.